But there's a chance that mark could fall in today's 37th installment of the 26.2 mile race along the North Shore of Lake Superior.

The Duluth News Tribune reports two speedy contenders from Ethiopia have a shot.

Twenty-two-year-old Bazu Worku and 30-year-old Dereje Yadete have been training together. Worku has the best previous marathon time of any entrant in Grandma's history, 2:05:25 to place third in Berlin in 2010. Yadete has a 2:09:51, good for seventh in Israel in 2012.

Beardsley says he's been saying for years that someone will break his record -- and he believes Worku has the credentials to finish in the 2:08 range.